Richebourg Grand Cru Pinot Noir

Began super green and vegetal but over time blossomed into a beautiful forest floor / pine duff expression layered over red fruits with a hint of citrus peel.

A lovely deep nose of spice, settled red fruit with pretty edges of rose. The palate is not quite as expansive as the nose but is balanced and succulent.

Lovely definition and bright cherry. Clear and almost tart red fruit with a lovely soft middle and length. So defined and delicious.

Bright fruit. A touch of green/ grapefruit. It’s lean and you can taste through it. Beautiful focused fruit. Bright with cherry notes.

A clone of the Lambrays, only more suave. For a lousy vintage, this is a stunning effort. High-pitched acidity, with superb texture. Bright fruits steal the show.

(aged in about 40% new oak, a bit less than in recent vintages): Medium red with modest saturation. Aromas of black raspberry, leather and earth are less pristine than those of today's wines. Creamy-sweet and spicy in the mouth, with a slightly high-toned quality to its fat flavors of red berries, red cherry, underbrush and leather. Can't match the punch of today's Hudelot-Noëllat wines but finishes spicy and very long, with a suggestion of rusticity and slightly edgy tannins that eventually turn a bit dry. Charles van Canneyt, who did not begin vinifying until 2009, following the retirement of his grandfather Alain Hudelot-Noëllat the previous year, noted that the estate's grapes were totally destemmed back in '99, then crushed and pumped back into cuves, an approach that he said could extract bitter tannins if the seeds were green. (Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, March 2018)

Big fruit can lay for a couple more

Yum.

Powerful. Needs more time. Almost sad that this was opened as soon as it was. Still incredibly delicious and complex In spite of it's tightness. Much better after an hour in carafe. 1996

We sacrificed my bottle with the cheese course. Give the '99 more time - obviously - and goodness will it repay your patience.